Latest Conference Articles

Second-generation EGFR inhibitor dacomitinib showed clear superiority over first-generation TKI gefitinib (Iressa) in a comparison of performance in EGFR mutation subtypes exon 19 deletion and L858R in advanced NSCLC.

Ramucirumab (Cyramza) plus docetaxel demonstrated an overall survival benefit versus placebo plus docetaxel in patients with advanced NSCLC whose disease rapidly progressed on first-line therapy,

David R. Gandara, MD, director, Thoracic Oncology Program, professor, senior advisor to director, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the significance of the phase III FLAURA trial of first-line osimertinib (Tagrisso) in EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, a professor of medical oncology at the University of Colorado, discusses the results of the ALTA trial, which is exploring brigatinib (Alunbrig) in patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer.

A lower dose of ceritinib taken with a low-fat meal showed similar efficacy with fewer dose reductions and less severe gastrointestinal adverse events versus a 750-mg dose taken without food for patients with untreated ALK-positive metastatic non­–small cell lung cancer.

The combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) induced an objective response rate of 46% in patients with recurrent small cell lung cancer with high tumor mutation burden, according to an exploratory analysis from the phase I/II CheckMate-032 study.

In addition to proving the superiority of alectinib versus crizotinib, the phase III ALEX trial provided clear guidance on which of 2 assays evaluated could provide stronger guidance on which patients would respond to ALK-specific therapy.

Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, provides highlights of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 18th World Conference on Lung Cancer, leading with his excitement for updated quality-of-life data from the PACIFIC trial of patients with locally advanced, unresectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer.

Richard M. Stone, MD, director of the Adult Leukemia Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses monitoring minimal residual disease in acute myeloid leukemia.

Sandy Wong, MD, assistant professor, Division of Hematology/Oncology, UCSF School of Medicine, discusses monoclonal antibodies in plasma cell neoplasms.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for the management of polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia have been updated to create a more uniform system of management for healthcare providers to follow in clinical practice.

The therapeutic landscape is rapidly being altered by clinical trials of immunotherapy for patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma, but simply changing the way quality of life is monitored could provide dramatic improvements in overall survival.

The aim of treating NMIBC is avoid the loss of the bladder and to prevent recurrence and progression to muscle-invasive disease.

Defined composition CAR T cells directed against CD19 have potent anti-tumor activity in B cell malignancies, including acute lymphocytic leukemia.

After nearly 40 years with little in the way of drug development for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia, four new drugs have been approved by the FDA in 2017 for AML, and several promising agents are in development.

The treatment approach for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma should be tailored based on biology of the disease, frailty of the patient, and comorbidities.

Shaji K. Kumar, MD, discusses proper diagnosis, risk stratification, and personalized medicine for patients with newly-diagnosed multiple myeloma.

Ruben Mesa, chair of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Mayo Clinic, discusses the guideline updates in polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia.

Jane N. Winter, MD, professor of medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Northwestern University, discusses response in follicular lymphoma.

In relapsed classical Hodgkin lymphoma, the era of therapies post-brentuximab vedotin is developing rapidly.

William G. Wierda, MD, PhD, discusses the continued importance of ibrutinib, the promise for novel combinations, and the impact this progress has had on sequencing for CLL.

Survival for patients with grade 1 to 2 follicular lymphoma is now measured in decades to coincide with improvements in therapy.

Shaji K. Kumar, MD, professor of medicine, Mayo Clinic, discusses the management of newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma.

William G. Wierda, MD, PhD, medical director of the Leukemia Center at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses trials of novel combinations on chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Robert Jones, MD, discusses the future treatment landscape for patients with urothelial carcinoma in a more multidisciplinary setting.

Eva Comperat, MD, Hospital Tenon, discusses the treatment strategy for patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

John Wagstaff, MD, professor at Swansea University Medical School, discusses the survival benefit of immunotherapy for patients with bladder cancer.

Delivering IMRT to the bladder and pelvic nodes in patients with node-positive bladder cancer or high-risk node-negative bladder cancer is feasible with patients experiencing low toxicity and demonstrating low pelvic nodal rates of recurrence

A new procedure for monitoring RNA indicators of disease recurrence in urine samples from patients with a history of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer could spare these patients from undergoing multiple cystoscopies during routine follow-up.

Although immunotherapy shows great promise in meeting the need for effective treatment of muscle invasive bladder cancer, chemotherapy continues to be an important tool in treating patients with this disease and other forms of bladder and urothelial cancer.